


childhood

by SolivagantStories



Series: The Renewal AU [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Brotherly Love, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, They’re children, smol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27842656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolivagantStories/pseuds/SolivagantStories
Summary: “I used to hate you, you know.”Antfrost shifted from his position in the garden, turning to look up at his brother. Dream was wearing his mask, one that was still a bit too large for him, and he couldn’t make out his expression.Ant frowned, confused.“...Why?”———————Or: Dream’s a prince, hiding away in the garden with his younger brother. They have a heart to heart.
Relationships: Antfrost & Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: The Renewal AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028499
Comments: 29
Kudos: 352





	childhood

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the Renewal series! You probably won’t understand it if you don’t read ‘the renewal of faith and of family’ first. 
> 
> I’m planning on adding one shots from other characters’ childhoods later too, once it won’t spoil too much.

“I used to hate you, you know.” 

Antfrost shifted from his position in the garden, turning to look up at his brother. Dream was wearing his mask, one that was still a bit too large for him, and he couldn’t make out his expression. 

Ant frowned, confused. 

“...Why?” 

Dream shifted, shoulders hunched. He looked almost... embarrassed. 

Antfrost patted the ground beneath him with a dirt covered hand, before turning back to the flowers he was planting. They needed partial sunlight, so he was making sure to hide them in the shade of some of the vines. The sun would only shine on them occasionally, and hopefully wouldn’t scorch them. 

He heard Dream sit down smoothly. He’d had training today out in the courtyard, and he was still wearing his loose shirt and leggings. 

Antfrost chose not to mention how much he stank. That’d just start a comparison game. 

“I was younger,” Dream said, once he’d settled in, “And you arrived at the same time my mom left. I guess I just... decided that those two things correlated.” 

Antfrost paused. Tilted his head. 

“...Correlated?” 

Dream snorted, even as he started to dig a small hole in the dirt for another flower. 

“You’re so stupid, Ant.” 

Antfrost nodded. 

“And you’re a brat, Crown Prince.” 

Dream wheezed softly and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. They were sitting shoulder to shoulder, both working on the flowers together. It was in a far corner of the garden, one that no one really walked through unless they knew how to get through the bush maze. 

It was their hiding place. Their Brother Base, as Dream called it. Frankly, Ant thought it was a silly name, but he liked silly. He was only allowed to like silly when he was around his brother. 

“Correlated means, like, related or something,” Dream explained eventually, elbow deep in dirt. 

Ant nodded slowly. He’d been slacking off again with his tutors, but it wasn’t his fault they were so dry. So... boring. Even sitting in the garden all day would be more entertaining. 

“What made you realize... that I’m not correlated?” 

Dream paused. He fiddled with the roots of the flower he was holding, causing Antfrost to wince. He lunged forward, gently snatching the poor flower out of his brothers’ grasp. 

Dream crossed his arms half-heartedly before he glanced away, deep in thought. 

“I think...,” he murmured, “I think it was when we first started hanging out here. I actually met you and you were this stupid bumbling kid that shared my mother’s love for gardening. How could I hate such a dorky face, anyway?” 

Ant pouted playfully, puffing out his cheeks. 

“But Dreeeeam,” he whined, “I’m not stupid or a dork. I’m a human!” 

Dream snorted. 

“What does that even mean? That’s not how it works.” 

Antfrost grinned, turning back to his flower. He patted it into the dirt gently, scooping the dirt up around its base. Then he grabbed the water, carefully watering around its roots in a circle. 

He watched Dream do the same, if a bit clumsily. Despite having more practice he was never as good at it as he was with swords. 

The revelation that Dream hadn’t liked him at first stung, but it made sense. Antfrost wasn’t very old, he couldn’t even escape Dream calling him a baby sometimes, but he could remember being scared of Dream at first. He’d never met him, and there were rumors. 

Scary rumors. 

He knew now that he was a big softie, even if he was half Nether. But back then... Back then he was tiny and scared and meeting the monster under his bed. 

His mother had told him to stay away, that he was meant to stay with her and never wander off. That it was too dangerous. 

Even if he was outwardly obedient, Antfrost could make trouble when he wanted to. Even when he was scared he hadn’t hesitated to explore. 

Ant shook himself off, turning back to Dream’s flowers. They looked good, if a bit crooked. There were still a few more left to plant, so Ant shifted to the left enough that Dream could too. 

They fell back into the rhythm of planting. Silence reigned for a while, only the sounds of nature filling the garden. Ant listened to a distant bird, at peace. 

Then, like clockwork, Dream started to talk. 

Ant wasn’t loud. Dream wasn’t either, but he could be if he wanted to. And he hated sitting in silence too long. So it’d become a tradition at one point for Ant to just let him ramble as they planted. 

Today Dream was apparently upset about his training. 

“—It’s just so annoying, Ant!” Dream huffed, “I’m doing what my instructor says to, but she always hits me anyway! As if I’m not listening. I don’t need to be punished for not listening, when. I. Am.”

Ant hummed under his breath, nodding just enough to egg Dream on. 

“I swear, it’s the mask,” Dream paused to tap his mask with a dirt covered fingertip, “They hate the mask. It’s not like I’m allowed to take it off. I guess it throws them off of their ‘instructing game’ when they can’t make eye contact...” 

Dream trailed off slowly. 

“...Not that they’d like what they’d see, anyway.” 

Ant’s chest clenched, and he paused. He didn’t know... he didn’t know how to help him. They always ended up here, talking about the elephant in the room. 

Sometimes Antfrost felt older than he was. He felt like an advisor, or a therapist, or whatever they’re called. He felt weary, when he thought of what his older brother had to go through. 

He didn’t know how to help. He wasn’t good at long monologues about how great people were. He wasn’t good at hugs, or at playfully punching someone’s shoulder, like he’d seen one kid do a while ago. 

Instead, in a fit of desperation, he grabbed a fistful of dirt and smeared it over Dream’s chest. 

On his white shirt. 

Dream squawked, falling backwards in an attempt to escape. Ant hadn’t missed, though, and he watched as Dream frantically tried to clean himself off. 

All he succeeded to do was smear the dirt even more. 

Dream stared at his chest for a tense second before he slowly looked up at Ant. With the mask it was mildly terrifying, and Ant didn’t waste any time. 

He bolted, leaving the last few unplanted flowers behind. He’d plant them in a moment, right now he needed to survive. 

“...ohhh, Ant!” Dream’s voice called, and Ant shivered, “I’m coming for you!” 

Ant dove for the bush maze, giggling under his breath. 

He loved hanging out with his brother.


End file.
